Why Latinos Don’t Vote

Many Latinos are registered and don’t vote. While many others aren’t even registered to vote in the first place.

As we’ve pointed out here (and elsewhere), there are many faction furtively working to keep Latinos, and minority voters in general from voting altogether. From laws designed to make it difficult to register, to county Registrars simply “un-registering” entire precincts that voted Democratic in the last Presidential election, there is an effort to suppress the voting power of minorities.

Here are numbers courtesy of the US Census we have some insight into the reasons Latinos and other minorities did not vote in the 2012 Presidential election.

Of 2365 Latinos polled, 22.9% of respondents indicated that they were too busy or had conflicting schedules.

With the advent of absentee voting, this should not be a reason for casting a ballot. Every registered voter can request an absentee ballot from their county Registrar of voters. Of course procedures vary from county to county. Nonetheless, the option is there. We should encourage all working men and women to request an absentee ballot.

The next most common reason for not voting is lack of interest. 15.1% of respondents reported that they were not interested in voting.

People who are not interested in voting do not understand just how important their vote is for their own well being and benefit. I met a young woman recently who did not vote due to a lack of interest. She had a child with her. I asked whether she had an interest in her child’s future. She, of course, said “yes.” Yet she had never equated her voting with affecting her child future and well-being. Once I discussed this with her, she became more interested in what I had to say (we were doing a community outreach/ welcome event). Although I hope that she will vote in the next election, there’s a possibility that she will go back to her “not really interested in it” position.

So we urge you to help spread the word so that our voices are heard through the ballot box. Make sure that you and your friends and loved ones are registered (absentee voters) and that you get out and vote.